]]>A Canadian business jet pilot approaching Springbank Airport just west of Calgary reported watching a cigar-shaped UFO flying low to the ground, according to testimony in Case 62198 from the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) witness reporting database.

The pilot was approaching the airport about mid morning on December 17, 2014, when the object was first noticed.

“Approaching from the north, I was approximately 10 miles north of Cochrane flying parallel to and a couple miles west of Highway 22 and descending through 8,500-feet above sea level or about 4,500 -feet above the ground,” the witness stated. “It was a bright, sunny morning and I was just looking at the scenery when I spotted a black object along the highway, maybe two miles ahead of me that was moving fast northbound, towards me.”

The pilot first thought the object was a fast car and decided to time it to see how fast it was moving.

“After looking at it for a few seconds, I thought I would time it along the section lines on the ground and calculate a speed of this very fast car. Within a few seconds I realized that what I thought was going to be a Corvette, in fact, was a flat black colored, tubular object that was flying low level over the highway. It was cigar-shaped and not flying with the end of the cigar pointing forward but perpendicular with the long edge in the direction of flight.”

The pilot was actually getting closer to the object.

“As I was flying south at some 230 knots and the object was coming towards me, the whole encounter happened fast, but fortunately I was getting closer and could get a better look at the craft.”

The pilot got a good look at the object.

“As I came above the object, it was wider than the road and difficult to estimate the height, but probably within a couple hundred feet of the ground.”

The pilot was approaching Calgary and was approximately 10 miles north of Cochrane flying parallel to and a couple miles west of Highway 22 when the cigar-shaped object was seen under 200 feet off of the ground. (Credit: Google)

The pilot was then surprised to see the object disappear.

“Then maybe stranger than actually seeing this object, as it was nearest my position directly off my left wingtip, it vanished within one-half a second. It quickly turned translucent where I could see a blurred image of the field and road through it while it had a darker edge along the outline of the craft. The object very quickly appeared clearer and within a fraction of a second it disappeared from view.”

The pilot scanned the ground area trying to locate the object again.

“I had no idea what I had seen and scanned the area around the track the object was flying, thinking maybe it was the top of a wing of a pipeline patrol aircraft that I had seen, and that maybe the aircraft banked and I lost sight of it. Scanning the area it never reappeared.”

The pilot then used instrumentation to locate other aircraft in his area.

“I looked at the TCAS (traffic collision avoidance system) display in the cockpit that shows all the aircraft that are being interrogated by ATC radar in the area. And although there were many other aircraft to the south and west, there was nothing on the display near me.”

The pilot attempted to judge the size of the object.

“Looking back towards where I last saw the object, I noticed cars on the road heading south and this helped judge the size and speed of the object compared to a ‘known ground based object.’ The cars were both much smaller and slower than the object and were within a mile of it when it disappeared. The drivers may have seen the same phenomena. I estimate the object as between 50 -80 feet in length and 15-20 feet wide.”

The pilot was just a few miles west of Route 22, pictured, north of Cochrane when the object was spotted moving close to ground level. (Credit: Google)

The pilot also tried to estimate the object’s speed.

“It moved on a steady track and at a constant speed. I mentally timed it at crossing a half-mile in under 12 seconds or around 160 mph, a speed not particularly fast for a small airplane, but faster than what patrol aircraft use when flying low level.”

He described the object.

“There were no discernible markings, windows, lights, or other features. Just a flat black, rectangular cigar-shaped object. The entire encounter was at the most 30 seconds long as the closing speed on the object was in the neighborhood of 400 mph.”

There were no other witnesses aboard the pilot’s aircraft.

“There were several passengers on the aircraft, but they were concentrating on a conversation in the aircraft. I doubt anyone saw the object and I didn’t ask as I enjoy my job. Likewise, as the object never showed on my TCAS, there wasn’t much point in asking ATC if they noticed anything. Besides it had disappeared at that point.”

The pilot compared the sighting to other experiences.

“On a side note, as a pilot with 30 years of experience, I have seen sights and objects which I could always dismiss as meteors, cloud formations, atmospheric phenomena such as inversions, other aircraft, satellites, etc. Even if this object had kept its track, I may have been passed off as some type of UAV, however, as I witnessed from a relatively close range the disappearance of the object, I have no doubt it was something that is either cutting edge top secret military tech or something that I have no explanation of.”

Calgary/Springbank Airport or Springbank Airport, is an airport located in Springbank, Alberta, a large western suburb of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The airport is located within rural Rocky View County.

Please remember that most UFO sighting can be explained as something natural or man-made. The above quotes were edited for clarity. Please report UFO activity to MUFON.com.

]]>http://www.openminds.tv/canadian-pilot-reports-ufo-near-ground-level/31490/feed5Pilot swerved to miss UFO in Hampshirehttp://www.openminds.tv/pilot-swerved-miss-ufo-hampshire/30107
http://www.openminds.tv/pilot-swerved-miss-ufo-hampshire/30107#commentsTue, 23 Sep 2014 15:42:03 +0000http://www.openminds.tv/?p=30107An unusual bent contrail was seen in the sky above Southsea, Hampshire in England at approximately 7:20 a.m. on Monday, September 22. Florence Lehmann, a local teacher, noticed the peculiar contrail and photographed it. “It’s really weird,” she explains. “It looks like the pilot sneezed or fell asleep.” She continues, “Somebody said a UFO had ...

]]>An unusual bent contrail was seen in the sky above Southsea, Hampshire in England at approximately 7:20 a.m. on Monday, September 22.

Florence Lehmann, a local teacher, noticed the peculiar contrail and photographed it. “It’s really weird,” she explains. “It looks like the pilot sneezed or fell asleep.” She continues, “Somebody said a UFO had been spotted recently in the area and the pilot had tried to avoid it, which I quite like the sound of.”

(Credit: Florence Lehmann)

Although wind can eventually distort a plane’s contrail, there was reportedly no wind that morning, and witnesses claim the plane physically changed its flight path.

According to the Independent, Local air traffic control company NATS doesn’t know why the plane suddenly changed its direction. “Unfortunately NATS has no knowledge of the purpose of any given flight and we do not identify individual aircraft to members of the public,” explains an air traffic control spokesperson.

It is unclear if witnesses actually observed a UFO and/or if witnesses saw the plane as it swerved. Those details aside, there is no official explanation for why the plane over Southsea suddenly altered its course.

]]>http://www.openminds.tv/pilot-swerved-miss-ufo-hampshire/30107/feed3Skeptic pilot photographs a UFO in Queensland – Spacing Out! Ep. 70http://www.openminds.tv/skeptic-pilot-photographs-ufo-queensland-spacing-ep-70/27160
http://www.openminds.tv/skeptic-pilot-photographs-ufo-queensland-spacing-ep-70/27160#commentsFri, 25 Apr 2014 15:00:46 +0000http://www.openminds.tv/?p=27160A pilot, who describes himself as the world's greatest skeptic, was left questioning his beliefs after photographing a UFO in Australia. That and other space and UFO news on this episode of Spacing Out!

A pilot, who describes himself as the world’s greatest skeptic, was left questioning his beliefs after photographing a UFO in Australia. That and other space and UFO news on this episode of Spacing Out!

]]>http://www.openminds.tv/skeptic-pilot-photographs-ufo-queensland-spacing-ep-70/27160/feed0Pilot snaps UFO photo in Queenslandhttp://www.openminds.tv/pilot-snaps-ufo-photo-queensland/27050
http://www.openminds.tv/pilot-snaps-ufo-photo-queensland/27050#commentsMon, 21 Apr 2014 16:37:21 +0000http://www.openminds.tv/?p=27050A 30-year veteran commercial pilot observed a mysterious aerial object above the residential community of Caloundra in Queensland, Australia on Friday, April 18. According to local newspaper Sunshine Coast Daily, the witness and his friends were admiring the sky at approximately 8:00 p.m. when they noticed two aerial lights. Based on their appearance and behavior, ...

]]>A 30-year veteran commercial pilot observed a mysterious aerial object above the residential community of Caloundra in Queensland, Australia on Friday, April 18.

(Credit: Google)

According to local newspaper Sunshine Coast Daily, the witness and his friends were admiring the sky at approximately 8:00 p.m. when they noticed two aerial lights. Based on their appearance and behavior, the pilot believed these lights were sky lanterns. But then a third light appeared in the sky. The witness describes this light as having a warm-orange glow. Rather than drifting like a typical sky lantern, this object suddenly changed direction and disappeared.

The witness managed to photograph the mysterious object. After transferring the photos to his computer, he was able to zoom in on the unusual light, and he was shocked by what he saw. As the Sunshine Coast Daily describes, zooming in on the photo reveals what appear to be “wing tips and the slight outline of an aircraft body.”

There were reportedly airplanes and helicopters in the sky that night, but, according to the witness, none of these craft flew in the same flight pattern as the unidentified object. He acknowledges that what he and his friends witnessed could have been a military operation, but he thinks the likelihood of that is small.

UFO over Caloundra. (Credit: Sunshine Coast Daily)

He explains to the Sunshine Coast Daily, “I have heard of and seen many, many things in my career and have flown all over the world . . . but nothing like this.” This pilot describes himself as the world’s greatest skeptic. But after witnessing this unidentified craft, he is left questioning what he believes. He explains, “I think it is fascinating and if there is some credibility to it . . . it has changed my mind that there could be something else out there.”

This veteran pilot asked to remain anonymous after reporting his sighting. This is common among pilots who know that speaking about UFOs can make them appear crazy and unfit for duty. Many pilots who witness UFOs never come forward because of this fear of losing their jobs.

]]>http://www.openminds.tv/daily-ufo-headlines-5313/20629/feed0[UPDATE] Is a flying shark the UFO that almost collided with a plane?http://www.openminds.tv/update-possible-identification-for-ufo-that-nearly-hit-plane-997/20575
http://www.openminds.tv/update-possible-identification-for-ufo-that-nearly-hit-plane-997/20575#commentsThu, 02 May 2013 15:34:19 +0000http://www.openminds.tv/?p=20575Information has surfaced that could explain the UFO that nearly caused a collision with a passenger plane in Scotland.

]]>On Tuesday, April 30, we published a story about a passenger plane that nearly collided with a UFO over the Glasgow suburb of Baillieston in December 2012. The pilots reported narrowly missing an unidentified object that was bigger than a balloon and was “blue and yellow (or silver) in colour with a small frontal area.”

The incident was thoroughly investigated by the UK Airprox Board, but the group was unable to identify the UFO. But according to Scotland’s Daily Record, a possible identification has just surfaced.

The Daily Record published a story on Wednesday, May 1 about the near-collision incident. After reading the story, Baillieston resident James Orsmond contacted the Daily Record to report that his son Billy lost his grip on his six-foot-long, helium-filled, remote-controlled shark toy at about the same time the incident with the plane occurred. He explains, “The report said the object was blue and yellow and silvery. I just thought, ‘Aw naw’ because that was the colour of Billy’s remote control shark and it went missing round about the time of the incident.”

A helium-filled, remote-controlled shark toy was also suggested as the likely identification for a UFO captured on video by a twelve-year-old girl in Ohio in March 2012.

Although no official identification has been made regarding the object in Scotland that nearly collided with a plane, Billy’s shark toy is a plausible explanation that fits the description provided by the plane’s pilots.

A plane was dangerously close to colliding with an unidentified flying object on December 2, 2012 over Glasgow, Scotland.

According to the Daily Mail, the Airbus 320 was flying at an altitude of 3,500 feet over the Glasgow suburb of Baillieston as the plane made its approach to Scotland’s Glasgow International Airport. The plane’s pilots describe the UFO as “blue and yellow (or silver) in colour with a small frontal area,” and it was bigger than a balloon. Pilots report the object narrowly missed hitting the plane as it passed three-hundred feet below. The pilots assessed the risk of collision as “High.”

The UK Airprox Board (UKAB), a group that investigates reports of near-collisions, conducted an extensive investigation of the incident. In March 2013, UKAB released its assessment of the case. First, the radio communication between the plane and the tower at Glasgow airport was disclosed in the report. The conversation went as follows:

Plane: “Glasgow Approach [A320 C/S]”
Tower: “[A320 C/S] pass your message”
Plane: “Er yeah we just had something pass underneath us quite close [1255:30] and nothing on TCAS have you got anything on in our area”
Tower: “Er negative er we’ve got nothing on er radar and we’re n- not talking to any traffic either”
Plane: “Er not quite sure what it was but it definitely er quite large [1255:40] and it’s blue and yellow”
Tower: “OK that’s understood er do you have a an estimate for the height”
Plane: “Maybe er [1255:50] yeah we were probably about erm four hundred to five hundred feet above it so it’s probably about three and a half thousand feet.”

Once on the ground, the conversation continued:

Diagram of the near-collision. (Credit: UKAB)

Plane: “. . . we seemed to only miss it by a couple of hundred feet it went directly beneath us . . . wherever we were when we called it in it was within about ten seconds . . . couldn’t tell what direction it was going but it went right underneath us”
Tower: “Do you suspect it might have been a glider or something like that”
Plane: “Well maybe a microlight . . . it just looked too big for a balloon.”

The UFO was not detected on radar, and the Board ruled out weather balloons, fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft, or man-carrying balloons. The Board was unable to identify the object, and classified the near-collision as a category D degree of risk–the Board’s second to highest level of risk.